Wednesday, October 2, 2013

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Prayer to our Guardian Angel

O most Faithful companion,
appointed by God to be my guide and protector,
and who art ever at my side,
what thanks can I offer thee for thy faithfulness and
love,
and for all the benefits
which thou hast conferred upon me?
Thou watchest over me in sleep;
thou consolest me when I am sad;
thou liftest me up when I fall;
thou avertest the dangers that threaten me;
thou preparest me for the future;
thou withdrawest me from evil
and excitest me to good;
thou exhortest me to penance when I yield to temptation;
and reconcilest me to my offended God.
Long since should I have been cast into hell,
unless by thy prayers thou hadst averted from me the anger
of God.
Leave me not, then, I entreat thee;
but still comfort me in adversity,
restrain me in prosperity,
defend me in danger,
assist me in temptations,
lest at any time I fall a victim to them.
Offer to God my prayers and groanings,
and all my religious exercises,
and obtain for me the great gift of final perseverance,
and the grace to die in the friendship of my Creator,
and so to enter into life everlasting.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

Reading
NEH 2:1-8

In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when the wine was in my charge,
I took some and offered it to the king.
As I had never before been sad in his presence,
the king asked me, “Why do you look sad?
If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart.”
Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:
“May the king live forever!
How could I not look sad
when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been eaten out by fire?”
The king asked me, “What is it, then, that you wish?”
I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king:
“If it please the king,
and if your servant is deserving of your favor,
send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves,
to rebuild it.”
Then the king, and the queen seated beside him,
asked me how long my journey would take
and when I would return.
I set a date that was acceptable to him,
and the king agreed that I might go.

I asked the king further: “If it please the king,
let letters be given to me for the governors
of West-of-Euphrates,
that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah;
also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park,
that he may give me wood for timbering the gates
of the temple-citadel and for the city wall
and the house that I shall occupy.”
The king granted my requests,
for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.


Responsorial Psalm
PS 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!


Gospel
MT 18:1-5, 10

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”

He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,

“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

SAINT OF THE DAY

October 2

Feast of the Guardian Angels

Perhaps no aspect of Catholic piety is as comforting to parents as the belief that an angel protects their little ones from dangers real and imagined. Yet guardian angels are not only for children. Their role is to represent individuals before God, to watch over them always, to aid their prayer and to present their souls to God at death.

The concept of an angel assigned to guide and nurture each human being is a development of Catholic doctrine and piety based on Scripture but not directly drawn from it. Jesus' words in Matthew 18:10 best support the belief: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, 
for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

Devotion to the angels began to develop with the birth of the monastic tradition. St. Benedict (July 11) gave it impetus and Bernard of Clairvaux (August 20), the great 12th-century reformer, 
was such an eloquent spokesman for the guardian angels that angelic devotion assumed its current form in his day.

A feast in honor of the guardian angels was first observed in the 16th century. 
In 1615, Pope Paul V added it to the Roman calendar.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim your praise!

Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 99 (100)

Come, let us adore the Lord, whom the angels serve.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,
and serve him with joy.
Exult as you enter his presence.

Come, let us adore the Lord, whom the angels serve.

Know that the Lord is God.
He made us and we are his
– his people, the sheep of his flock.

Come, let us adore the Lord, whom the angels serve.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,
fill his courtyards with songs.
Proclaim him and bless his name;
for the Lord is our delight.
His mercy lasts for ever,
his faithfulness through all the ages.

Come, let us adore the Lord, whom the angels serve.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Come, let us adore the Lord, whom the angels serve.


Hymn
Ambrose of Milan
(tr. J.M. Neale)

O God, creation’s secret force,
yourself unmoved, all motion’s source,
who from the morn till evening ray
through all its changes guide the day:
Grant us, when this short life is past,
the glorious evening that shall last;
that, by a holy death attained,
eternal glory may be gained.
To God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit, Three in One,
may every tongue and nation raise
an endless song of thankful praise!


Psalm 38 (39)
A prayer in sickness

We groan inwardly and await the redemption of our bodies.

I said, “I will watch my ways,
I will try not to sin in my speech.
I will set a guard on my mouth,
for as long as my enemies are standing against me.”
I stayed quiet and dumb, spoke neither evil nor good,
but my pain was renewed.
My heart grew hot within me,
and fire blazed in my thoughts.
Then I spoke out loud:
“Lord, make me know my end.
Let me know the number of my days,
so that I know how short my life is to be.”
All the length of my days is a handsbreadth or two,
the expanse of my life is as nothing before you.
For in your sight all men are nothingness:
man passes away, like a shadow.
Nothingness, although he is busy:
he builds up treasure, but who will collect it?

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

We groan inwardly and await the redemption of our bodies.


Psalm 38 (39)

Lord, hear my prayer: do not be deaf to my tears.

What, now, can I look forward to, Lord?
My hope is in you.
Rescue me from all my sins,
do not make me a thing for fools to laugh at.
I have sworn to be dumb, I will not open my mouth:
for it is at your hands that I am suffering.
Aim your blows away from me,
for I am crushed by the weight of your hand.
You rebuke and chastise us for our sins.
Like the moth you consume all we desire
– for all men are nothingness.
Listen, Lord, to my prayer:
turn your ear to my cries.
Do not be deaf to my weeping,
for I come as a stranger before you,
a wanderer like my fathers before me.
Turn away from me, give me respite,
before I leave this world,
before I am no more.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Lord, hear my prayer: do not be deaf to my tears.


Psalm 51 (52)
Against calumny

I trust in the goodness of God for ever and ever.

Why do you take pride in your malice,
you expert in evil-doing?
All day long you plan your traps,
your tongue is sharp as a razor –
you master of deceit!
You have chosen malice over kindness;
you speak lies rather than the truth;
your tongue is in love with every deceit.
For all this, in the end God will destroy you.
He will tear you out and expel you from your dwelling,
uproot you from the land of the living.
The upright will see and be struck with awe:
they will deride the evil-doer.
“Here is the man who did not make God his refuge,
but put his hope in the abundance of his riches
and in the power of his stratagems.”
But I flourish like an olive in the palace of God.
I hope in the kindness of God,
for ever, and through all ages.
I shall praise you for all time for what you have done.
I shall put my hope in your name and in its goodness
in the sight of your chosen ones.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

I trust in the goodness of God for ever and ever.


My soul waits for his word;
– my soul puts its hope in the Lord.


First Reading
Philippians 2:12-30

My dear friends, continue to do as I tell you, as you always have; not only as you did when I was there with you, but even more now that I am no longer there; and work for your salvation ‘in fear and trembling.’ It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you. Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing and then you will be innocent and genuine, perfect children of God among a deceitful and underhand brood, and you will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life. This would give me something to be proud of for the Day of Christ, and would mean that I had not run in the race and exhausted myself for nothing. And then, if my blood has to be shed as part of your own sacrifice and offering-which is your faith I shall still be happy and rejoice with all of you, and you must be just as happy and rejoice with me.

I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you soon, and I shall be reassured by having news of you. I have nobody else like him here, as wholeheartedly concerned for your welfare: all the rest seem more interested in themselves than in Jesus Christ. But you know how he has proved himself by working with me on behalf of the Good News like a son helping his father. That is why he is the one that I am hoping to send you, 
as soon as I know something definite about my fate. 
But I continue to trust, in the Lord, that I shall be coming soon myself.

It is essential, I think, to send brother Epaphroditus back to you. He was sent as your representative to help me when I needed someone to be my companion in working and battling, but he misses you all and is worried because you heard about his illness. It is true that he has been ill, and almost died, but God took pity on him, and on me as well as him, and spared me what would have been one grief on top of another. So I shall send him back as promptly as I can; you will be happy to see him again, and that will make me less sorry. Give him a most hearty welcome, in the Lord; people like him are to be honored. It was for Christ’s work that he came so near to dying, 
and he risked his life to give me the help that you were not able to give me yourselves.


Responsory

You have been called and chosen.
Work to justify this by good deeds:
then you will be granted admittance into the eternal kingdom
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Be like children of light,
having nothing to do with the worthless deeds of darkness:
then you will be granted admittance into the eternal kingdom
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


Second Reading
A sermon
by St Bernard

That they might guard you in all your ways

He has given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways. Let them thank the Lord for his mercy; his wonderful works are for the children of men. Let them give thanks and say among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them. O Lord, what is man that you have made yourself known to him, or why do you incline your heart to him? And you do incline your heart to him; you show him your care and your concern. Finally, you send your only Son and the grace of your Spirit, and promise him a vision of your countenance. And so, that nothing in heaven should be wanting in your concern for us, you send those blessed spirits to serve us, 
assigning them as our guardians and our teachers.

He has given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways. These words should fill you with respect, inspire devotion and instill confidence; respect for the presence of angels, devotion because of their loving service, and confidence because of their protection. And so the angels are here; they are at your side, they are with you, present on your behalf. They are here to protect you and to serve you. But even if it is God who has given them this charge, 
we must nonetheless be grateful to them for the great love with which they obey and come to help us in our great need.

So let us be devoted and grateful to such great protectors; 
let us return their love and honor them as much as we can and should. 
Yet all our love and honor must go to him, 
for it is from him that they receive all that makes them worthy of our love and respect.

We should then, my brothers, show our affection for the angels, for one day they will be our co-heirs just as here below they are our guardians and trustees appointed and set over us by the Father. We are God’s children although it does not seem so, because we are still but small children under guardians and trustees, 
and for the present little better than slaves.

Even though we are children and have a long, a very long and dangerous way to go, with such protectors what have we to fear? They who keep us in all our ways cannot be overpowered or led astray, much less lead us astray. They are loyal, prudent, powerful. Why then are we afraid? We have only to follow them, stay close to them, 
and we shall dwell under the protection of God’s heaven.


Responsory

He has commanded his angels to keep you in all your ways;
they shall bear you upon their hands lest you strike your foot against a stone.

Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell;
they shall bear you upon their hands lest you strike your foot against a stone.

Let us pray.

Lord God,
in your all-wise providence you send angels to guard and protect us.
Surround us with their watchful care on earth,
and give us the joy of their company for ever in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.